This section introduces aspects that may help facilitate a better understanding of the inventions. Accordingly, the statements of this section are to be read in this light and are not to be understood as admissions about what is prior art or what is not prior art.
The power densities of contemporary electronic and photonic components are ever-increasing while the available area over which the heat can be dissipated is reducing. Chip level thermal problems typically have the effect of decreasing reliability and increasing power consumption for operation, and, as a result, thermal issues have become a significant roadblock in the development of such circuits.
With the need for increased power dissipation at the device level, conventional forced air convection may no longer be sufficient in some cases, thus pushing alternative heat transfer techniques to the forefront. Liquid cooling within the chip or package using micro-channels is seen as a promising alternative, because the thermal energy is removed directly from where it is generated within the chip or package.
Flow rate control within the micro-channel allows variable amounts of energy to be removed by the fluid, which, in turn, provides a means of thermal control. Such thermal control is particularly important to certain circuits where thermal control, rather than simply bulk cooling, is desirable.